Transvenous leads for cardiac pacing and defibrillation are well known to the art. Recently, in conjunction with the development of porous and steroid eluting electrodes, there has been a trend toward the use of smaller pacing electrodes, located on the tips of such leads. While the use of smaller electrodes is valuable in decreasing pacing thresholds, their smaller cross sectional areas proportionally increase the force per unit area applied by the electrodes to the tissue of the heart, if the cross sectional area of the lead is also correspondingly reduced. One method of avoiding this problem is to provide a tip sleeve immediately proximal to the electrode, which extends radially outward from the electrode and thereby increase the cross sectional area of the tip of the lead. One example of such a lead tip configuration may be found on the Medtronic Model 6968 ventricular pacing/defibrillation lead.